Making a Megacognitive Salad

So at the end of the last academic school year I was selected to write the Reading, Writing, and Word Work curriculum for my district with a teammate. We used lots of items for curriculum enrichment but one example really stood out to me. Perhaps it was the demonstration that wooed me instantly. The person leading our curriculum development had purchased the book: Comprehension Connections by Tanny McGregor and was demonstrating one of the chapters that detailed mega cognitive thinking or "thinking about your thinking".

The link above connects to this book on Amazon and you can even flip through it to see the different chapters. 

Pay careful attention to the upcoming steps because I followed the demonstration I had seen and my mind was blown. I thought WOW my students are really going to get this!

You pick a book any book and start reading a little fast and with semi- inflection in your voice. You then ask the students if they think you're a good reader. They will probably say no, let them share why. Try again... a little slower and more inflection and ask if you're a good reader yet again. After the share why they thought you were or were not, tell them that you really were only reading the text and that you can't even remember exactly what you read.

So even though it appeared you were a good reader, you were missing something very very important- your thinking! This is where the concept gets harder because even as an adult I don't always stop where I am at in the book and think to myself "What have I read?" It comes so naturally to feel sad or happy when we read without even stopping. Your students are still building the basic blocks of this foundation. I tell them my thinking is just as important as the text, or the words I say when I read.

This is me "thinking about my thinking".

I tell them successful reading has two things: text AND thinking. And that today we are going to make a salad to prove my point. Not a Caesar or a Cobb Salad but rather a Mega Cognitive Salad! In the book they used red and green slips of paper with a glass bowl but I just created some simple lettuce and tomatoes in Word and then printed and laminated them.

The salad pieces I made for the activity. Comment if you'd like these emailed to you free of charge!

Now I reread the same passage as before but I point my finger to the text as I read the words and I point my finger to my head when I am thinking. I have three student helpers- two to hold the "salad pieces" and one to hold the bowl while they watch my fingers and put the pieces in that correspond to each time I point. We check through the bowl when I am done and count the number of text tomato pieces vs. thinking lettuce pieces. I stress that my salad pieces should have more thinking because I am constantly coming up with thoughts and questions. My thinking ranges from making connections, predictions, inferences, questions, etc. anything about what I am currently reading in the text. After I've read the same passage from before when I told them I wasn't a good reader, I ask for them to share differences they noticed. Did it seem like I make the information more relevant to me? I tell them YES and without going back to the passage I go through everything I read and the thoughts that I had shared. I emphasize by slowing down and making the text more personal, I have a MUCH stronger understanding of the text at hand. 

The anchor chart we have hanging in our classroom that we made together. 

After a thorough modeling and discussion, I ask if there are any volunteers to try to  make a "Mega Cognitive Salad". There always are! :) I let them sit on my teacher stool with three of their peers who are making the salad nearby. They are instructed to point to their head for thinking, and point to the text when they are reading. The first go around I help and guide them when they get lost by asking after a long time if they have not stopped, "Do you have a connection with what you just read?" or "Have you been making a prediction about what is happening next?". I teach 5th grade and so I think by 10/11 years old, they are pretty good with being creative and having these thoughts but they just need to slow down and apply them to what the text. I could see with a younger grade level where they could do this easily just need more guidance.

After a few student trials I tell them we don't need to point in daily reading but that was an example to show how text + thinking = the best kind of reader! I tell them that when they read from now on I want them to remember my Mega Cognitive Salad and if they were putting lettuce and tomatoes in the bowl, what would the bowl be made up of? If the answer is tomatoes = text, I am not doing a good job of making the text relevant to me. However, an equal amount of each is good and even more lettuce= thinking is GREAT! We reference the salad throughout the year and I always ask, "Are you thinking about your thinking?" when I see them reading.

This is a fun concrete way to teach them to stop and think. I have had light bulbs go off in my students every time I have taught it! Please leave a comment with your email if you'd be interested in modeling this with your class and want me to send the salad pieces your way free of charge! I know that this activity can help your class no matter how young or old, "think about their thinking". Also there is a link in the top of the post to the book on Amazon where they have it for only $17 dollars. This book is jam packed full of reading lessons where you take abstract concepts and turn them into hands on learning. I also love that it's not written in a textbook style with lots of jargon but rather full of pictures and is easily explained. My district purchased this for every K-5th grade teacher at my school and I can't wait to see the great lessons we all teach from it and the positive effect we see on our student's reading. :) :) 

Donors Choose and FREE Chevron Scavenger Hunt

So I am uber excited! I just completed my DonorsChoose Project and within one day, they approved. When you donate and use the code INSPIRE by September 8th, your donation is doubled. I am asking for math materials that my classroom could really use. The website for my DonorsChoose project is:

Donor's Choose My Website

I just made a free chevron Scavenger Hunt for the first week of school. I'd say it's pretty cute! Better yet... did you hear me FREE? ;) Follow the link to download it on TeachersPayTeachers. Don't forget to leave feedback, it's always appreciated. Follow my blog so you'll know the next free upload.

Scavenger Hunt on TPT

Classroom Decor... Chevron and More Chevron!

At the end of the last school year, I decided the upcoming theme of my classroom would be travel. Then came the questions- what kind of travel? Travel through the U.S? Traveling the continents? Would this include each of the continents all at once or would I rotate the decor on a monthly basis? I just could not decide!

Then I received a Creative Teaching Press email... they were coming out with a Chevron border! I quickly pre-ordered this in teal, royal blue, and lime green. There.... went my travel theme or so I thought. Upon returning back to school this year, we were informed that our Social Studies curriculum was moved down to 4th grade and we were teaching United States Geography. This reawakened those feelings of creating a travel theme. While the basis for my classroom is still calming colored chevron, I have touches of "travel" spread throughout. The deskplates are license plates, their jobs are written on a globe, and above the cubbies is a compliation of travel themed quotes and pictures (this might be my favorite part) all while a stream of airplanes is seen flying through the cabinets.

This is the entrance to my classroom. I cut the letters out on my Cricut using the Chalkboard Font's Cartridge. So a Cricut usually goes for between $200 to $300. I snagged mine up at a thrift store for $35 in Richmond. The wreath was easy to make and cost about $10 with craft supplies from Michaels. :)

This is the bulletin board outside my classroom. Instead of Angry Birds... they are happy birds. Look at what they are saying. :)

This cubby area is what you see when you first walk in the room. It is also my favorite part. Read the quotes if you can!

Room setup. Notice we have lots of windows.

This is what was on their desks for Open House. Out of 25 students, 24 arrived with their parents. A great turnout I'd say! I plan on putting up the template for the Meet the Teacher note, Parent Survey, and Student Survey up on TeachersPayTeachers for free ASAP. I blocked out my email and the student's name. The goodie bag was not mine, I found it on another blog a while ago and I hope to link to that blog soon. Lastly, in the top right is a magnet with my email on it so that a parent can place it on their refrigerator for quick reference.

Views of the classroom....

It's hard to see but the far right lined up against the wall is my library collection. There are blue chevron labels on each the baskets. I hope to put these up on TPT soon.

Add captioThe back bulletin board... there is a custom made Homeworkpoly, Boggle from TPT, and Cupcakes from TPT around the Calendar. I will link the sellers within the next week in case you are interested. :)

Notice my failed "Readbox" hiding in the corner, I need to redo it. I had cut out the letters too large. The chevron curtain is hiding my teacher books.

Everything set up for Open House!

Travel alphabet.

One of the comfy reading areas.

I plan on making a few changes for overall... I am pleased. :)

Leave in the comments below what YOUR classroom theme is this year. Did you do the same theme last year or do you seem to change every year?

First Post! Blog Basics.

So... judging from the title you can immediately infer to things: I am a teacher and I love coupons. Both of those would be true. :) Other things about me... I am an avid fan of Arts & Crafts projects, many of which you will see in the following pictures. I wish Michael's Arts and Crafts had a credit card or a rewards program. I would be their #1 customer. Another thing which I hope will be evident through my posts is that I love technology. I still remember sitting on my father's lap playing Bear Goes to Space. A year or so ago, my parents cleaned out the computer room and we found the floppy disk with that game. Not the 3 and half inch floppy disk but the actual huge floppy disks. Whew. On my blog I hope to share a few of my favorite things- teaching, crafting, couponing, and technology intergration.

This will be my third official year teaching- although I would like to round up to four. ;) I came in as a long term substitute my first year. Originally I had wanted to finished my Master's Degree before accepting a job, however, a trip to the my university's college fair soon changed that. I met some of the most amazing school principals and even some superintendents! Of course the opposite was true- some districts did not seem the least bit interested and instead of becoming upset, I realized that their schools were not for me. I wanted someplace that would accept me as a new teacher- knowing that I had an abundance of knowledge yet to learn but also acknowledging that I was young and full of energy- eager to please and teach.

I am happy to say I have found that place. I have even made some amazing friends along the way. Being a brand new teacher was scary in fact down right frightening. Luckily, I made a friend who I will call Mrs. C and she took me under her wing. When Mrs. C left after being my teammate, I was devasted and expected the end of the world. However, I placed with an amazing teacher who despite being new to my school, was not new to teaching. She would help me "fine tune" my skills all while encouraging me to be dedicated to my students. Year later, I  have yet a new teammate. Am I scared? Of course. But I do have confidence that this year will be the best yet. As I continue with my teaching, I really feel like I am a making a difference. With that being said, I have also learned that I never teach the same lesson twice- there is always room for improvement or a difference in the class makeup. One other realization also has come to mind. My principal told us about two weeks ago that the kids are not "my students" but rather "our students". I will try my absolute best to not only keep that in mind but also act on it. If I have a great lesson that I know works... it is my duty to share it. If I see another teacher's student sad in the hallway, it is my duty to stop and talk to them to make sure they're alright. In my... our hands is the well-being of "our students".